5 DAYS STARGAZING DESERT TOUR FROM FES TO MARRAKECH
Sahar Stargazing Experience
5 DAYS STARGAZING DESERT TOUR FROM FES TO MARRAKECH
Five days is the version of this route with no long days in it. The same crossing from Fes to Marrakech, the same two nights in the Sahara with a full day between them, but the southern leg is spread over three days instead of two. That means Rissani and Erfoud get a proper visit rather than a wave from the window, and the last stretch through Skoura and Ait Ben Haddou is taken at a pace that leaves time to stop.
It suits travellers who would rather see fewer things well than more things quickly, and anyone who finds six-hour driving days hard going.
Stargazing in the Merzouga Desert
Stargazing is one of the unforgettable experiences included in our Morocco desert tours. Rather than being a separate activity, it is part of your desert camp experience and takes place during your stay in the Erg Chebbi dunes, as outlined in your tour itinerary.
How Our Stargazing Experience Is Organized
After enjoying a traditional dinner at the desert camp, we gather together and take a peaceful 10-minute walk into the heart of the dunes. Away from any artificial lights, you’ll reach a quiet location where the night sky reveals thousands of stars in remarkable clarity.
Our experience begins with fascinating stories about the nomadic people of the Sahara and how they relied on the stars for navigation and orientation across the desert. You’ll learn about their traditions, legends, and their deep connection with the night sky.
Using a professional laser pointer, your guide will introduce you to the most prominent stars, constellations, and celestial objects visible above the Sahara. With virtually no light pollution, the Merzouga dunes offer one of Morocco’s most spectacular stargazing environments, making this a truly memorable part of your desert adventure.
Duration: 5 days / 4 nightss
Start: Fes
End: Marrakech
Tour Style: Private
Stargazing Experience : Merzouga Desert
HIGHILGHTES:
– Ifrane and the alpine architecture of the Middle Atlas
– Barbary macaques in the cedar forest near Azrou
– The Ziz Valley palm corridor
– Camel trekking into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset
– Two nights in a luxury desert camp
– Two guided stargazing sessions in the dunes
– A full 4×4 day in the Sahara with nomad families and Khamlia village
– Sandboarding on the dunes
– Rissani and the Tafilalet souk
– Erfoud and the fossil workshops
– The Todra Gorge and its 300-metre limestone walls
– The Dades Valley and the Roses Valley
– The palm groves and kasbahs of Skoura
– Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
– Crossing the High Atlas via the Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 metres
TOUR Itinerary
- DAY 1: FES - IFRANE - CEDAR FOREST - ZIZ VALLEY - MERZOUGA
Your guide collects you in the morning from your riad or hotel in Fes. The road climbs south into the Middle Atlas.
The first stop is Ifrane, whose pitched roofs and cool climate look nothing like the rest of Morocco. Beyond it lies the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques live in and around the trees along the roadside, one of the few places in the world the species can be seen in the wild.
Lunch is taken along the route, usually at Midelt. The afternoon carries you through the Tizi n’Tilghmt pass and down the Ziz Valley, a long green corridor of date palms cutting through bare rock.
You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon. Camels and a guide are waiting at the edge of the dunes. The trek climbs into Erg Chebbi and pauses on a high crest for the sunset before continuing to the camp, where you are met with tea and shown to a private tent. Dinner is served, followed by Berber music around the campfire.
- DAY 2: FULL DAY IN THE MERZOUGA DESERT
Sunrise over the dunes, then breakfast at the camp. The whole day is given to the area around Erg Chebbi, travelling by 4×4.
The circuit takes in the stony hammada beyond the dune field, where the landscape flattens into something harder and emptier than the sand most people picture. You visit nomad families living on this ground, sit for tea, and hear how water, grazing, and seasonal movement actually work out here.
Khamlia follows, a village with a distinct musical tradition rooted in its sub-Saharan heritage, where a live performance is part of the visit. Lunch is taken locally.
The afternoon includes the seasonal lake north of Merzouga, which draws flamingos and waders when it holds water, and time for sandboarding on the dunes before returning to camp for a second night.
STARGAZING EXPERIENCE – MERZOUGA DESERT
After dinner, we gather together and walk for about 10 minutes into the dunes to a quiet, dark location where there is no light pollution.
We begin with an introduction to the mythology of the nomads and explain how they used the stars they observed at night to navigate during the day.
Using a professional laser pointer, we guide you through the night sky, introducing the most important stars and constellations.
- DAY 3: MERZOUGA - RISSANI - ERFOUD - TINGHIR - TODRA GORGE - DADES
A final sunrise over the dunes and breakfast at the camp. You leave by camel or by 4×4.
The first stop is Rissani, the historic seat of the Tafilalet, where the souk still functions as a working regional market. Donkeys arrive alongside vans, and the produce and goods on sale are for people who live here rather than for visitors. It runs on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
Erfoud follows, known for its fossil workshops, where marine fossils embedded in the surrounding rock are cut and polished into tabletops and basins. It is a good reminder that this whole landscape was seabed once.
The afternoon runs west to Tinghir, with a stop at the viewpoint above the palm oasis, then up the Todra river to the gorge, where the limestone walls rise around 300 metres above the riverbed. There is time to walk the gorge floor before the short drive on to the Dades Valley.
- DAY 4: DADES - ROSES VALLEY - SKOURA - OUARZAZATE
A shorter day, deliberately. The morning is free to walk in the Dades Valley, with the option of the switchback road up the gorge and the rock formations at its entrance.
The route then runs west through Kalaat M’Gouna, the centre of the Roses Valley, where rose products are distilled and sold year-round and the fields turn colour in spring. Skoura follows, an oasis thick with date palms and scattered with old kasbahs, several of which can be visited.
You reach Ouarzazate in the afternoon, with time to visit Atlas Studios if you want it.
- DAY 5: OUARZAZATE - AIT BEN HADDOU - HIGH ATLAS - MARRAKECH
A short drive brings you to Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified earthen village on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best surviving examples of southern Moroccan construction, built from packed earth and straw. With the morning rather than a rushed hour, there is time to cross the riverbed, walk up through the ksar, and reach the granary at the top for the view down the valley.
From there the road climbs the High Atlas and crosses the Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 metres, with stops along the switchbacks. Lunch is taken at one of the pass restaurants before the descent into the Marrakech plain. You are dropped at your riad, where the tour ends.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
– Only day 1 involves a long drive. Days 3, 4, and 5 are all under six hours with substantial stops.
– The itinerary can be adjusted to suit your interests.
– Vegetarian and vegan meals are available. Let your guide know on the first day.
– You can travel to and from the camp by camel or by 4×4, in either direction.
– Quad biking or a buggy excursion can be added on the full desert day.
– The Rissani souk runs on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Tell us if you want your dates to catch it.
– The seasonal lake depends on rainfall and is dry for parts of the year.
- Includes & Not Includes
- INCLUDES
– Pick-up from your accommodation in Fes
– Private air-conditioned vehicle with fuel
– English-speaking driver, or a driver and a separate tour guide
– Four nights accommodation as listed
– Private room in hotels, private tent at the desert camp
– Meals: 4 breakfasts and 4 dinners
– Camel trekking experience in the Erg Chebbi dunes
– Full day 4×4 desert excursion with nomad and Khamlia visits
– Sandboarding
– Two stargazing experiences in the Merzouga desert
– Drop-off at your accommodation in Marrakech
- NOT INCLUDES
– Lunches
– Drinks and beverages
– Entrance fees where applicable
– Tips
- Book Now & Pay Later
Please fill out the form below to contact us, and we will respond as soon as possible. For a faster response please send a WhatsApp: +212661144620 message or call us at +212661144620 . We look forward to connecting with you. Email: saharastargazing@gmail.com
- important FAQS
How to pay for the tour?
Our payment process is simple and hassle-free. To confirm your booking, we require a small deposit, which can be easily paid via PayPal, bank transfer, or Wise at the time of reservation. The remaining balance is to be paid in cash to your driver or guide on the first day of the tour, in euros, US dollars, or the equivalent amount in Moroccan dirhams.
What currency is used, and how do I get money?
The currency in Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham (MAD). Credit cards are accepted in many hotels and larger businesses, but cash is needed in many smaller towns and markets.
Is it possible to customize the tour itinerary?
The currency in Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham (MAD). Credit cards are accepted in many hotels and larger businesses, but cash is needed in many smaller towns and markets.
What are the camps in the desert like?
You’ll spend the night in a traditional Berber desert camp featuring private tents. The camps offer essential comforts such as comfortable bedding, shared or private bathroom facilities (depending on the camp type), warm blankets, and a communal dining area for meals and relaxation.
Price & Booking Policy
As a staying guest of our hotel ,hotel KASBAH mohayut, we offer you a guided observation of the starry sky after dinner until midnight, seeing conditions permitting,
at 200
Dirhams per person.
As a non-staying guest of our hotel we offer a 3-course dinner with guided stargazing after dinner at 350 Dirhams per person. Only valid with a firm reservation and upon confirmation by hotel mohayut.
For passing through guests:
Price: 350 Dirhams pp.
Parking of the car and a guided observation after dinner for about an hour and a half .upon firm reservation confirmed by the hotel.
Occasional drive-by’s will not guarantee stargazing at SaharaSky.
Cancellations please 2 days before arrival date as confirmed by the hotel either by email to
saharastargazing@gmail.com or by SMS to 0661144620 .
How Our Stargazing Experience Is Organized
- Walk through the tranquil Erg Chebbi dunes under a sky filled with stars.
- Witness the spectacular Milky Way in a pristine dark-sky environment.
- Learn how Sahara nomads navigated using the stars for centuries.
- Guided constellation and planet tour with a professional laser pointer.
- Discover ancient Berber legends and celestial mythology.
- Perfect opportunity for unforgettable night photography and astrophotography.
- A romantic, peaceful, and unforgettable experience in the heart of the Sahara Desert.
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